Spring-motor.



P-ATENTED AUG. 9', 1904.

0. PFEIIE'FER.v SPRING MOTOR.

ABPLIOATION IILED FEB. 19. 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

PATBNTED AUG. 9, 1904.

0. PPEIFFBR. SPRING MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 19, 1904.

N0 MODEL.

N0. 767,235. PATENTBD AUG. 9, 1904.

- 0. PPBIFFER.

SPRING MOTOR.

APPLICATION nun r213. 19. 1904.

no MODEL. I a SHEETS-SHEET 3'.

i Clo atwewl'oz PATENTE'D AUG. 9, 1904.

C. PFEIFFER. SPRING MOTOR. APPLIOAITION FILED pm. 19, 1904.

5 BHEETS-SHEET 1.

mo MODEL.

S m M PATBNTED AUG. 9, 1904.

C. PFBIFFBR.

SPRING MOTOR.

APPLIUATION FILED r33. 19, 1904.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

/////W v LR N0 MODEL.

UNITED STATES Patented August 9, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHRISTIAN PFEIFFER, OF NEIV BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO NEIVBRITAIN HARDWARE MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF NEW BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, ACORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT.

SPRING-MOTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 767,235, dated August9, 1904.

Application filed February 19, 1904. Serial No. 194,393. (No model.)

To a whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN PFEIFFER, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Britain, in the county of Hartford, State ofConnecticut, have invent-ed certain new and useful Improvements inSpring-Motors, of

which the following is a description, reference beinghad to theaccompanying drawings, and

compact and less expensive without in any way impairing its efficiency.This object I accomplish by the construction shown in the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the motor with myimprovements applied. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line 1 1,Fig. 1, the dotted lines showing the positions the levers assume inoperation. Fig. 3 is a rear end elevation, the base-plate being insection. Fig. 4: is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of thewinding mechanism. Fig. 5 is a transverse section on the line 5 5, Fig.2; and Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are detail views of the traveling fulcrum.Figs. 9 and 10 are detail sectional views of the brake mechanism. Fig.11 is' a sectional side elevation line 11 11, Fig. 2, with bevel-gears BC omitted for cl'earness.

A designates the framework, formed of parallel plates A A base-plate Abrackets A A and cross-bar A.

B designates the winding-shaft of the motor, on which is loosely mounteda spring-drum C, connected to the shaft by means of the usual spring C,as is commonly done in springmotors.

The drum C is provided with a circumferential transmission gear C whichin turn meshes with a small pinion D on a transmission-shaft F, parallelwith shaft B. The shaft F is provided with a large gear D which in turnmeshes with a small gear E on a second shaft F, which is thetransmission-shaft for operating the music-rerolling shaft of apianoplayer or like mechanism through wheels F F Fig. 1, As thisrerolling-gearing forms no part of the present improvement and is fullyshown and described in my other application, I will not further describeit nor the governor controlling the motor.

The foregoing mechanism being the same as that in my former applicationI will now describe the mechanism for winding the motor from thebellows-pedals. The motor-shaft B i is extended considerably beyond oneend of the drum C, which latter is provided with a threaded hub C uponwhich is screwed and fixedly held a beveled gear C*, while upon theshaft B alongside the gear C is fixedly held a smaller beveled gear B.the shaft B carries two winding-wheels S S, given a step-by-steprotation by means of the vertically-rocking clutch-levers TT. Theselevers are loosely mounted at one end on the shaft B, at the oppositesides of the wheels S S, and at their rear free ends Z are pivoted tothe rear ends of the vertically-rocking operatinglevers L L, whichlevers L L are provided with longitudinal fulcrum-slots Z and extendforwardly across the shaft B, at which point they are arched orrecessed, as shown in Fig. 4. The forward ends of these operating-leversL L are connected by vertical links if 70 with the arms k 10 projectingfrom the shafts K K, respectively. The opposite ends of these shafts areprovided with arms in it, connected with the bellows-pedals J J, as inmy other application.

The clutch-levers T T are provided with beveled friction-blocks 2,,secured thereto by springs t and studs 6 These blocks engage the beveledgrooves s in the peripheries of the clutch-wheels S S, and rollers s aresecured to the levers T T to engage the outer inclined sides of theblocks t and force them into clutching action with the drive pulleys orwheels S S in the upward movement of clutch-levers T T.

Reverse movement of the winding-wheels and shaft B isprevented by meansof a wedge- Beyond these gears block q similar to the blocks 2, and heldbetween the grooved rim of one wheel S and a roller q, mounted on abracket (7 On the bracket 17 is mounted a second roller 9' on a stud (1which roller engages the inner periphery of the rim of the wheel S. Inthe upward or forward rotation of the wheel S the block (1 rises andexerts no wedging action, but the instant the wheel starts to rotate inthe reverse direction the block wedges tightly between the rim of thewheel and the roller and so locks the wheel and with it the shaft B. Theroller q", in connection with block q, forms a double clutch during suchbackward rotation, and the axis of roller (1 being in line with that ofroller (1 and shaft B it follows that any tendency of the wedge-block qto force the wheel S and shaft B away from roller 9 will be prevented bythe roll q.

The rocking of the levers L L through the medium of the intermittentclutch mechanism imparts rotary motion to the winding-shaft B to wind upthe spring C, and in order that the winding of the spring may equal theunwinding and so keep the spring wound 1 provide the followingequalizing or controlling mechanism for the lever mechanism:

M is a traveling fulcrum-piece having a roller M on its lower endrunning on the baseplate of the frame, and this fulcrum-piece is slottedat its upper end and there provided with a fulcrum pin or bolt m, whichpasses through the slots Zof levers L L and is there provided withrollers m m and a spacingwasher m The fulcrum-piece M is provided withan offset sleeve M and this sleeve has an annular internal groove mreceiving a projection n of a nut-segment N, which nut lies within alongitudinal slot a, formed in a tubular shaft N, mounted at rightangles to the shaft B and passing through the sleeve M This tubularshaft is provided with a bevelgear N meshing with the bevel-gear (1* onthe drum C, while within the tubular shaft works the screw-shaft N,mounted at its ends in the brackets A and also provided with abevel-gear N meshing with the bevel-gear B on the shaft B, the threadsof the shaft N engaging the threads on said nut N It follows from thisconstruction that when the tubular shaft N is rotated by gear C in theunwinding of the spring the nut i 3 will be carried around thescrew-shaft N and so slide the fulcrum-piece M in one direction, andwhen the screw-shaft N is rotated from gear B on drum-shaft B the nut Nwill be moved longitudinally along the slot n and so move thefulcrum-piece in the opposite direction. The shaft Nis further providedwith a handle H (see Fig. 2) to provide for hand-winding under certainconditions.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the winding and unwinding of themotor-spring are equalized or controlled by the shifting fulcrummechanism, so as to maintain a constant tension on the spring. Ifdesired, however, the winding may exceed the unwinding and theaccumulated energy used to run the motor for a while without furtherwinding. As stated in my former application, this stored energy is usedto reroll the musicsheet when the pedals are not in use, and the motordoes not have to be rewound by hand to effect such rerolling. The saidtraveling fulcrum will prevent overwinding and can be made to maintainany desired ratio between the winding and unwinding of the spring andbetween the speed of the motor and the movement of the pedals, as theleverage'of levers L L is varied in direct proportion to the winding ofthe spring through the controlling mechanism, as above described. Whenthe spring C is fully wound, the traveling fulcrum-piece M will havebeen shifted rearwardly till the fulcrum-pin m is in a verticalalinement with the pivots Z, when the levers L L will no longer transmitmotion to the clutch arms or levers T-T and wheels S S. As the springunwinds the opposite movement of the fulcrum takes place.

The relative sizes of the gears and pinions and the pitch of the threadof screw N are such that the number of revolutions necessary to wind thespring are just suflicient to move the nut and saddle from end to end ofthe lever-slots, so that ifthe spring is wound either by the pedals J Jor by hand, by means of a handle ]L placed on shaft N, when the saddleis at the front end of'the slot, adjacent to the connections Z, thefulcrum-stud of the rocking levers L L being directly opposite theconnections, the vibratory movement of the levers ceases at the clutchend, but continues the same at the free rearward ends, and so long asthe parts are in this position the winder is inoperative; but when themotor is started the drum C turns the bevel-gear C* the bevel-pinion N",the tubular slotted shaft N, and nut N the latter drawing the saddlerearwardly along the levers L L, so that if the pedals are againoperated the levers will again begin to move in proportion to thedistance their fulcrums have moved.

If the movement of the pedals and windinggears is slower than thetransmitting gear, the nut and saddle will continue to move rearwardly,thus increasing the throw of the levers and amount of rotation of thewheels S, and in like proportion the amount of winding of themotor-spring, until the point is reached where the winding andtransmitting gears revolve at the same speed, when the motor can be runcontinuously by maintaining the same movement of the pedals, in whichcase the saddle will remain at a position where the movement of thepedals and the winding will equal the transmitting, and if the workbeing done or the music being played require a variable speed the saddlewill adjust itself automatically by increasing or decreasing the windingspeed in the same proportion as the speed of the motor is changed, or ifthe movement of the pedals is not uniform, as in music where the volumeof sound requires more or less power and motion of the pedals, theamount of winding is in proportion to the motor speed, being kept so bythe automatic change of leverage. This equalizing of the winding andunwinding makes it unnecessary to have the spring fully wound, as themotor can be run with the spring at the least tension that is sufficientto do the work, as the automatic winding does not allow the spring torun down.

In apiano-player the music-sheet has to be rerolled after playing, sothe equalizer may,

be made to wind faster than the transmittinggear unwinds, so as to haveenough spring to reroll and leave the spring at normal playing tensionat the end, the transmitting-gear being ,so arranged that the rerollingonly re-,

wheels L L directly on shaft B and by hav-- ing the gears J. N meshdirectly with the gears C B, I have lessened the number of parts wlthoutsacrificing any function and, 1n

fact, have rendered the operation more certain in that the parts aremore directly connected. Having thus described my invention, what Iclaim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is'

1. The combination with a motor having a bevel-gear, a shaft for windingthe motor, also having a bevel-gear, and a lever mechanism,

for rotating said shaft, of a slotted tubular shaft having a bevel-gearmeshing with the gear on the motor, a screw-shaft extending through thetubular shaft, and having a bevelgear meshing with the gear on thewindingshaft, a traveling fulcrum for the lever mechanism provided witha sleeve encircling the tubular shaft, and having an internal annulargroove, and a nut extending through the slot in the tubular shaft intoengagement with the threaded shaft, and having a projection enteringsaid annular groove; substantially as described.

2. The combination with a motor having a bevel-gear, a shaft for windingthe motor also having a bevel-gear, and an intermittent clutch mechanismalso on the shaft for rotating it to wind the motor, of levers-foroperating said clutch mechanism, a traveling fulcrum-piece for saidlevers, two shafts, having bevel-gears at the same ends meshingrespectively with the bevel-gears on the motor and winding-shaft, atraveling fulcrum for the levers and operative connections between saidfulerum-pieceand said two shafts for moving the fulcrum-piece inoppositedirections on the winding and unwinding ofthe motor; substantially asdescribed. l I

3. The combination witha motorhaving a bevel-gear, .a winding shaft forthe motor also having a bevel-gear, clutch-wheels on the motor-shaft,clutch levers or arms having clutches engaging said wheels to rotatethem, and operating-levers connected to said clutch levers or arms, of atraveling fulcrum-piece for said operating-levers, provided with asleeve hav ing an internal annular groove, a slotted tubular shaftextending through said sleeve, and provided with a bevel-gear meshingwith the corresponding ge'aron the motor, aninner threaded shaft havinga bevel-gear meshingwithcorresponding gear on the windingshaft, and anut extend-ing through the slot in the tubular shaft into engagementwith the threaded shaft, and provided with a projec tion enteringthe-said annulargroove; sub-,- stantially as described.

L. The combination with a motor having a, bevel-gear,a winding-shaft forthe motor having a bevel-gear, and also provided with clutch-wheelsbeyond said bevel-gears,rear-, wardly-extending clutch levers or armsloose on the winding shaft, clutches on the levers to engagetheclutch-wheels, longitudinallyslotted operating-levers pivoted at theirrearends to the rear ends of the clutch-levers, a,

traveling fulcrum-piece having a fulcrum-pin passing through thelever-slots, and provided at one side with an offset sleeve having an1nternal annular groove, a tubular shaft extending through said sleeve,and provided with a longitudinal slot, a bevel-gear on the forward endof said shaft meshing with the bevel-gear on the motor, an innerscrew-shaft having a bevel-gear at its forward end, meshing with thebevel-gear on the winding-shaft, and a nut extending through the slotinthe tubular shaft, and having a projection entering the groove in thesleeve; substantially as described.

5. The combination with the motor, awindclutch-wheels on themotor-shaft, of clutcharms loose on the shaft, and provided betweentheir ends with clutches engaging said wheels in one direction,operating-levers fulcrumed I between their ends, and pivoted at theirrear ends to the rear ends of the clutch-levers at their forward ends,and means for rocking said operating levers; substantially as described.

6. The combination with the motor and its winding-shaft, ofclutch-wheels on the motorshaft, clutch-levers loose on said shaft,clutchblocks, springs connecting the, blocks to the levers,-rollers. onthe levers with which the outer inclined sides of the blocks engage,operating-levers fulcrumed between their. ends andpivoted at their rearends tosaid clutchlevers, and means for rocking said operatinglevers;substantially as described.

7. The combination with the motor and its winding-shaft, ofclutch-wheels on the shaft, and clutch-levers for rotating the wheels,and a bracket adjacent to one of said wheels and provided with aclutch-block engaging the periphery of the rim of one wheel to preventreverse rotation, a roller on the bracket with which the outer face ofthe clutch'block engages, and a second roller on the bracket engagingthe inner side of the wheel-rim opposite the working face 'of theclutch-block; substantially as described.

8. The combination with the motor and. its winding-shaft, of anintermittent grip or clutch mechanism on the said shaft for rotating it,operating-levers for said grip mechanism, a traveling fulcrum for saidlevers, concentric shafts geared to the fulcrum to move it in oppositedirections, the forward ends of the shafts being directly geared to themotor and winding-shaft respectively; substantially as described.

9. The combination with the motor and its winding-shaft, of anintermittent grip or clutch mechanism on said shaft for rotating it,operating levers for said clutch or grip mechanism, a traveling fulcrumfor said levers, concentric shafts geared directly at their inner endsto the motor and its shaft respectively, and a screw and nut connectionbetween the shafts and traveling fulcrum, the inner shaft being extendedat its rear end to receive an operating-handle; substantially asdescribed.

10. The combination with the motor and its winding-shaft, of anintermittent clutch or grip mechanism on the shaft, includingclutchlevers, longitudinally-slotted levers pivoted at their rear endsto the rear ends of said clutch-levers, an adjustable fulcrum having afulcrum pin or stud in the lever-slots, and means for operating theslotted levers; substantially as described.

11. The combination with a motor, a winding-shaft therefor, and a levermechanism for rotating said shaft to wind it, of a' travelingfulcrum-piece having a roller at its lower end, a fulcrum at its upperend. in sliding connection with the levers, and an offset sleeve to oneside of the said fulcrum provided with an internal annular groove, alongitudinallyslotted tubular shaft extending through said sleeve andgeared at its forward end directly to the motor, an inner screw-shaftgeared at its inner end directly to the winding-shaft, and a nutextending through the slot in the tubular shaft into engagement with thethreaded shaft, and provided with a projection entering the said annulargroove; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTIAN PFEIFFER.

Witnesses:

James S. NORTH, J OHN H. KIRKHAM.

